Pros & Cons
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- Quiet.
- Fast.
- Large waste bin.
- Can shred close to 20 sheets at once.
- Handles staples, optical discs, plastic cards, and junk mail in addition to paper.
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- Large and heavy.
- On the pricey side.
- Not secure enough for secret documents.
The Fellowes Powershred 99Ci 100% Jam Proof Cross-Cut Shredder ($299.99) is an excellent choice as a heavy-duty shared shredder for a micro office or small workgroup. It's speedy, it has good paper capacity, it cuts paper into pieces small enough for disposing of sensitive documents, and unlike many lower-priced shredders we have reviewed, it's capable of shredding for up to a half-hour straight without needing to cool off. If you need to shred secret documents, you will want to look at a micro-cut shredder, but for more typical shredding, the cross-cut 99Ci earns our Editors' Choice.
Design and Features
Measuring 25.2 by 11.4 by 17.3 inches (HWD) and weighing 36.3 pounds, the 99Ci—built for use by up to three people—is large and tall for a manual-feed shredder. It comes with four casters, which can be attached to the bottom for easy mobility. It has a distinctive layout in that the 9-inch feed slot on its top is perpendicular to the shredder's front, running straight back. The only similarly designed shredders we've reviewed are the Swingline EX14-06 Super Cross-Cut Jam Free Shredder ($232.99 at Staples) and the Fellowes Powershred 99Ms Micro-Cut Shredder ($402.00 at Amazon) .
The essential difference between the 99Ci and the Fellowes 99Ms is that while the 99Ms is a micro-cut shredder, cutting paper into tiny pieces suitable for shredding secret documents, the 99Ci's shred size is larger, typical for a cross-cut shredder, providing security suitable for confidential but not secret documents. I measured the shreds at about 0.16 by 1.7 inches. Paper inserted in the 99Ci's paper slot ends up in the pull-out basket, which, like the 99Ms's basket, holds 9 gallons of shred. Although it's a good-size basket, it will fill much more quickly, with its larger shred, than the 99Ms's. The AmazonBasics 12-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper, CD, and Credit Card Shredder ( at Amazon) has a basket barely half the size of the one the 99Ci uses.
The 99Ci is easy to operate. On the top of its front-right corner are Back and Forward arrows flanking an Enter button. When the shredder is on, you just put the paper in the slot, and shredding should begin automatically. You use the Back arrow to reverse shredding direction in case of a jam, the Forward button to shred, and Enter to return to Automatic mode.
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In addition to paper sheets, the 99Ci can shred plastic cards, staples, CDs, and DVDs, and envelopes filled with junk mail. Of those items, the Fellowes 99Ms can only handle staples and plastic cards. The AmazonBasics 12-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder and the Editors' Choice AmazonBasics 12-Sheet High-Security Micro-Cut Paper, CD, and Credit Card Shredder With Pullout Basket can shred plastic cards and optical discs, but not metal items such as staples.
Performance
The 99Ci has the chops for heavy-duty shredding in a small workgroup or tiny office. I timed its shredding speed at 13.1 feet per minute (fpm). This is good, though not as fast as the Editors' Choice Swingline Style+ Super Cross-Cut Shredder (17.4fpm) or the Staples 16-Sheet High-Speed Cross-Cut Shredder ($199.99 at Quill) (14.7fpm). It could shred up to its rated capacity of 18 sheets at once; I tried it with 20 sheets, but it paused several times. True to the shredder's name, I had no problems with jams. It can shred continuously for an impressively long 30 minutes before it needs a 40-minute cooldown period. The Fellowes 99Ms can shred for 20 minutes straight before needing the same cool-off period. Light-duty shredders can only shred for brief periods before needing a pause. The AmazonBasics 12-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder is designed for just 8 minutes of continuous shredding followed by a 45-minute cooldown period, and the Swingline Style+ can only shred for 6 minutes before needing a half-hour break.
Shredders tend to be noisy devices. (When I reviewed the Swingline Style+, I described it as "the Chihuahua of the document-shredder world: tiny, cute, loud, and fast.") Many shredders are loud enough to be disruptive to nearby workers, but not the 99Ci, which is unusually quiet.
Conclusion
The Fellowes Powershred 99Ci 100% Jam Proof Cross-Cut Shredder is fast, can shred nearly 20 sheets at a time, and can handle credit cards, staples, optical discs, and envelopes filled with junk mail. It can shred continuously for a half-hour before needing to cool down, far longer than light-duty shredders as the AmazonBasics 12-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder, our Editors' Choice budget shredder. While the AmazonBasics shredder is best for home or home-office use, and costs just $99.99, the more expensive 99Ci is better equipped for handling the shredding needs of a busy micro office or small workgroup. For that reason, it easily earns our Editors' Choice for a shared shredder in such a role.
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Final Thoughts
Fellowes Powershred 99Ci 100% Jam Proof Cross-Cut Shredder Review
The Fellowes Powershred 99Ci 100% Jam Proof Cross-Cut Shredder is an excellent heavy-duty shredder. It's speedy, has high paper capacity, can shred a variety of materials, and can operate for a long time before needing a break.